Houston's history is dotted with albums that, fairly or not, have been swept aside. We'll examine them here. Have an album that you think nobody knows about but should? Email [email protected].
Undergravity Space Jams (Self-released, 2011)
Undergravity is a duo. The members - Adam Bomb and Mac - have, according to Mac, known each other since just about forever. (Us: How long have you all been a group? Him: Since about the 5th grade.)
Space Jams is their second album and, among other things, is especially interesting and aesthetically ironic because its best parts are rooted deep, deep, deep in the terra firma rather than in the expanse of space.
Y'allmustaforgotability: 97 percent
Read what Y'allmustaforgotability means.
Most Unexpectedly Enjoyable Moment on the Album: All of it, even the less-than-great parts.
Here's what that means: Where their first tape, Starships and Rockets, tended to lack focus and cohesion, Space Jams feels flush and, at times, complete. There are parts that are unnecessary, as there almost always are on these sorts of homegrown products, but there are also parts that are gorgeously accurate.
"Invasion of the Fraud," for example, while hearty and admirable in its production, is too preachy and condescending to be effective. The intent is clear - it feels like a derivative of Big Hawk's 1999 track "What's Happenin' Out Here" - but they've not yet entered the phase of their career where these songs can be delivered with the supreme confidence required.
"Southside Summertime" automatically belongs in the Great Houston Summertime Rap Songs pantheon.
